Hullo!!! Nothing to say here, so on with the story...
Time After Time
Fic by MuseQ
Disclaimer: Own Nothin'. Nope. Nadda. Don't ask.
Chapter 7- Easy Way Out
*****
"Black?" Hermione gasped. "As in... the Black from twenty years ago?"
"Yes," said Remus, his face fuming, "That cad sure loves a good laugh."
"Go on, then," said Hermione, interest increasing, "what did he say?"
Remus looked at her suspiciously. Hermione sighed.
"Look, I'm the one who's going to help you get back to your time, so don't be so secretive! It might be helpful."
He took a deep breath and read aloud:
~
Dear Moony,
Ha! Got you good this time, didn't we? You should know by now that a secret within the Marauders is never kept forever... and what a secret, eh Moony? The first time you lied was truly an exception, but lying to us *again* does come with certain consequences, so here you are! But don't get mad just yet. As much as we love the thought of you wandering aimlessly around twenty years in the future looking for the reverse spell, we kept in mind that shit happens, and so we included instructions that will tell you exactly where to find the enchantment. Please don't get too upset with us... mind you, it's only a harmless Marauder prank... see you in a while!
Sincerely,
Padfoot
P.S. Mr. Prongs would like to offer his sincere apologies in the situation in hopes Mr. Moony would not beat the snot out of him upon his return. He would also like to add that he was under the influence of Mr. Padfoot, since the idea was entirely his.
Mr. Padfoot would like to state that Mr. Prongs is a backstabbing git, and that he equally participated in all preparations of the prank.
~
Remus looked up at Hermone, slightly relieved. Behind the letter was another piece of parchment with a blown-up portion of the library corridor.
"Ooh," said Hermione, intrigued, "is that a part of the Marauder's Map?"
"You know about that too?" Remus stated, sounding impressed.
"Yes, I've used it." At the shocked look from Remus, she added hastily, "Harry, well, *inherited* it from his father."
"So Harry is related to James! I knew he had to be. They could be twins, couldn't they?"
Hermione laughed. "From what I heard, probably."
Remus frowned at her. "What do you mean? Didn't you ever meet him?"
Hermione' s expression dropped instantly. 'Oh, good job, Hermione.' she thought.
"Hermione?"
"Of course I did." she lied.
"We're probably still the closest of friends, I'll bet you that much." It was more of a statement than anything. He smiled broadly and tucked the parchment in his pocket.
Hermione followed him out of the portrait hole feeling very guilty. 'It's a right shame time couldn't be meddled with,' she thought sadly, watching Remus practically bounce down the corridor, 'his happiness would be spared at the least…'
They walked silently towards the staircase when Hermione suddenly stopped. "Hey, Remus..."
Remus faced her. "What is it?"
"...You've just received immediate instructions on how to get back to your time."
"So?"
"So, why are we going downstairs instead of the library?"
Remus smiled. "I know it won't take much to get back now, but if you don't mind, I'm extremely hungry."
"Oh!" Hermione laughed and the two walked down to the Great Hall.
*
Professor Remus Lupin woke early that morning. It wasn't very surprising to him, the night had been impossible to sleep through. Why did he let everything get to him? He closed his eyes as he sat in front of the open window of his small balcony.
He loved to think like this. Closing his eyes and letting a breeze of cool wind wash over him… relaxed in his beaten (and slightly torn) yet altogether inviting chair. He almost always thought of his friends, whom all three haunted him repeatedly until the past few years. But every once in a while, and especially now, his mind would drift back to the young lady who had stolen his heart so long ago. It seemed not as far away now. In fact, he might as well had been in that exact place, the memories were so vivid. Clear enough, in fact, that he had to perform a placid charm just to prevent himself from breaking down in front of them.
McGonagall had mentioned that young Remus should sleep in his office, but that was out of the question. The truth was, he couldn't trust himself around him. The weight of his belated friend's deaths could push him into telling his younger self the truth of his following years, regardless the immense repercussions. Smiling slightly, he figured that Hermione might be thinking the same thing.
His decision was simply to stay away from his former self as much as possible. It was only right, anyway. Meddling with time travel can be dangerous, no matter the situation.
But still, how he wanted to re-live his memories with Hermione; when he first found someone so much like himself. He shivered involuntarily. How would she see him after this is all over? He certainly was nervous, for he was waiting for this time in his life since he left Hogwarts twenty years ago, and the emotions were catching up to him.
Most of all, though, he was scared of rejection. He was, after all, twenty years her senior. But can love stretch that far? He had no idea. Love certainly wasn't his line of expertise.
'Perhaps', he thought, pulling his robe closer in the cool morning air, 'She might take me back.'
He can only hope.
*
"Harry? Can you come here for a second?"
Harry walked over to where Hermione and Remus were standing by the Great Hall doorway. "What's going on?"
"Harry, Remus was going to stay as Professor Lupin's nephew until we found the enchantment, but it seems that we already found it!"
Harry's eyes widened. "Already?"
"Yeah," said Remus, "They couldn't pull a prank like this without at least giving me a clue."
"Did McGonagall talk to you yet about the situation? We're just going to grab a bite and then follow the instructions they left us. But we have to be careful no one suspects anything." She eyed an apprehensive-looking Ron at the Gryfinndor table.
"Alright." Harry turned to Remus. "Well, er...nice to meet you." They shook hands.
"Yeah...ah, sorry about blowing up at you back there...thought you were James."
"Yeah?" Harry smiled at him, and Hermione noticed the concentrated effort. "He never told me about this."
"Really?" Remus said, raising his eyebrows. "I thought he would've gloated on and on about pulling off something like this!"
"Well, that's Dad for you." He looked up at the enchanted ceiling.
Hermione quickly turned to Remus. "We should eat now. It's almost time for the house-elves to clean up." Hermione steered Remus to the Gryffindor table, giving Harry a look of deep sympathy.
"Hey 'Mione... who's that?" Ron pointed at Remus lingering in the distance.
"This is Romulus." Remus turned to him and smiled. "Romulus, this is our friend Ron."
"Hullo." Remus said politely. But Ron was gaping at him.
"Bloody hell! He looks just like Professor Lupin!"
Harry, Hermione, and Remus stiffled their laughs.
"That's because he is his nephew," Hermione explained, "he'll be visiting for a short time."
"Oh. Well... hullo, Romulus." He and Remus shook hands. "French toast this morning, and it's going pretty fast."
*
An hour later Harry, Hermione and Remus wandered into the restricted section of the library. Sirius's map led them to an old plague hanging on the wall. Remus peered down at the mini map, and next to the three dots labeled Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter, there was a small speech bubble containing the word 'Tenamus'.
"Is this it?" Harry poked the plaque carefully.
"According to what Sirius left, there should be a secret compartment of books behind here." Remus pulled out his wand and, glancing briefly at Hermione, took a deep breath.
"Tenamus."
To their awe, the plaque rolled up halfway as it did before for Sirius, revealing the secluded, *empty* bookshelf.
The three stared.
"Shit."
*****
Bloody hell! Bloody hell! haha
~~MuseQ
